After returning from the war with an amputated arm, Ishmael
attended school in Seattle. He studied history, then American
literature. Though he occupied himself with his studies, he
could never forget about the pinned up sleeve that held his
amputated arm.

His father, Arthur, at one time a logger, started the island’s
newspaper, the San Piedro Review in his early 20s. After
returning from the army, Arthur returned home, married, and
became the epitome of a small-town newspaperman. Ishmael
remembers his father as a respected citizen with “unflagging
loyalty to his profession and its principles.” A “morally
meticulous man” that Ishmael tried to emulate, but Ishmael’s
missing arm prevented this. The chip Ishmael carried on his
shoulder and his veteran’s cynicism caused him to view people
as enormously foolish. Even after he had grown older and
learned to be cordial to people, his cynicism deepened. Now he
had the cynicism of a war veteran and a reporter.

The Sheriff was attempting to find out who had seen Carl that
night, when, and where. Carl was seen early in the night by the
fishermen but not later. The Islander, Kabuo’s boat was seen in
the vicinity of Carl’s boat.

Sheriff Moran dismisses the fisherman with an order to tell other fishermen
that spoke to Carl that night to come and talk to him. Then, Moran purposely
walks away with Ishmael to tell him not to report this is an investigation
but rather an accident. Off the record, Sheriff Moran admits there is
an investigation spurred by the “tricky, funny little facts floating around.”
But, at the moment, he knows nothing. Ishmael agrees to report this as
an accident as long as Moran keeps him posted on the investigation.

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Notes

In this chapter, Guterson provides Background Information on
Ishmael Chambers. We learn that Ishmael has never learned to
live with his amputated arm. His war experience has left him
viewing “most human activity [as] utter folly, his own
included, and that his existence in the world made others
nervous.” His cynicism as a war veteran and reporter has left
Ishmael unable to find a way to like anyone, though he wants
to like everyone.

Guterson also gives a deeper glimpse into the community.
First, we learn how the citizens viewed the gill-netting
profession as Sheriff Moran talks to the fishermen gathered at
the docks. The solitary gill-netters of the island were the
collective image of the good man. Though shouting matches at
sea could erupt, for the most part, gill-netting was a solitary
existence. An existence that San Piedro Island prided itself on;
these men had the courage to fish alone. Though the silent
fisherman paid a price: on occasion, they wished they could
speak but couldn’t. Carl Heine was among the fisherman that
had trouble speaking.

Guterson also shows us how the community views the
Japanese in one simple line: “Suckers all look alike. Never
could tell them guys apart,” says fisherman Dale Middleton.
This one line shows two things about the community’s
perception of the Japanese islanders. First, the Japanese are
viewed as suckers. Second, the community has never invested
any time in getting to know them as individuals.